


Changing Faces

by accidentallyonpurpose



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: A little, Crack, F/M, Fem!John - Freeform, Gender or Sex Swap, M/M, Unilock, but then he gets swapped back, magic?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-01
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2018-03-04 20:17:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3087728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/accidentallyonpurpose/pseuds/accidentallyonpurpose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John gets changed into a girl, then meets and falls in love with one Sherlock Holmes. Shenanigans, pure and simple.</p><p>http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/100734166736/imagine-b-has-a-curse-spell-that-turns-them-into<br/>Imagine B has a curse/spell that turns them into the opposite sex when they are exposed to cold water (or other factor that would lead to hilarious issues). A falls in love with B while they were in their opposite sex and B (who likes A as well) is afraid to tell them the truth, thinking that A will reject them. B tries their best to not reveal their secret to A, but then A wants to take things a little further and B is somehow turned back to normality by accident. A is shocked but realizes that they didn’t mind which sex they were, they were in love with B anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Changing Faces

**Author's Note:**

> Un'betaed. Please leave kudos and comments at your leisure. Enjoy!

Sherlock was huddled under the awning outside the University library, silently cursing the downpour that had graced London with its presence. He clutched his book bag to his chest, shielding it and the precious papers inside from the vile, ice-cold rain coming down outside of the meager protection. The library had closed ten minutes ago, despite Sherlock’s desperate pleas to the heartless librarian. A combination of shitty weather and having only his dorm room to go back to had resulted in Sherlock begging rather embarrassingly, but to no avail. And now here he stood, debating dashing to his dorm room or waiting the storm out. He squinted through the thick curtains of rain, trying to determine if it was worth the mad dash and exactly how soaked he would get if he were to leave the cover of the awning.  
As he was narrowing his eyes, he noticed a blurry figure jogging towards him with its head ducked low. The figure quickly reached the awning that Sherlock inhabited, ducking under it. Sherlock could now see that it was a female, roughly five years older than him. Short blond hair hung around her round face, sticking to her scalp and forehead. Water dripped off the end of a rather round nose and blue eyes looked at him from under a fringe of hair. She was ensconced in a large oatmeal-coloured jumper and light blue jeans that hung loosely off her hips, as if they were two sizes too big. She was mumbling under her breath.  
“Stupid, unpredictable rain. Has to rain today, of course. Couldn’t wait one more stupid- uh, hi.”  
“Hello.”  
“Got caught by the rain too?” She had an alto voice.  
“So it would seem.” Sherlock reconsidered making a run for it. He did not fancy the idea of being stranded in a small area with a stranger.   
“Studying in the library?”  
“Yes.”  
“Midterms?”  
“Final thesis.” Sherlock avoided eye contact.  
“Final thesis? How old are you?” He cut his eyes towards the girl coolly. “If you don’t mind my asking.”  
“I’ll be seventeen in three months.”  
“Geez! That’s amazing. I’m in my-“  
“Fourth year, yes I know. Studying in biology, pre-med? Yes, but short on money. Enlisting in the army then. Hoping to get your schooling paid for by the government. You have an older brother who you’re rather distant from, but whom you associate with due to familial obligation. Had toast and jam for breakfast this morning.” The girl stood stunned for a moment.  
“Wow that was… Incredible.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, and you got most of it right, too.”  
“Thank you- wait most of it? What did I get wrong?” Sherlock’s smug look was intercepted by his puzzled one.  
“Fourth year, yes. Pre-med, and I am planning in enlisting, and I did have toast for breakfast the morning. My older sibling, however, is my sister. Harriet.”  
“Ah. There’s always something.” The girl hesitated for a moment.  
“How did you know all that?”  
“I deduced it.”  
“Yeah? And what does that mean exactly?”  
“Well. Fourth year. Based off general age and the paper for a 400 level biology class sticking out of your bag. You might want to tuck that in by the way, it’s getting a little damp.” The girl hastened to stuff the slip of paper back in the bag. “Biology, again because of the class, only taken by students majoring in some strain of biology or pre-med. Fifty-fifty chance that it was pre-med. Short on money, evident by your too large jeans, hand-me-down sweater and worn book bag. Handed down by an older sibling, but not something they cared much about before giving it to you. Hints at a distant relationship. Your posture, the way you hold yourself, and the worn army pin on your bag hints at an army influence, probably from a parent. And you have crumbs from breakfast on your jumper.”  
“Astounding. Truly.” The girl was staring at Sherlock in a way he had never seen before.  
“You really think so?”  
“Yeah, why?”  
“Well people don’t often respond that way.” Sherlock ducked his head.  
“How do they usually respond?”  
“By telling me to piss off, generally.” They both chuckled softly. Sherlock turned towards the girl. “I’m Sherlock.” He held out his hand.  
Taking the proffered hand, she responded with, “Sherlock, that’s an interesting name. Joh- er Joan Watson. Mostly people just call me Jay.”  
“Well Jay, it looks like the rain is letting up. I’ve got to go, it was nice meeting you. How does five tomorrow evening work for you?”  
“I- yeah that works, what for?”  
“To ‘hang out’.” Air quotes were evident in his tone. “That’s what people do, isn’t it?”  
“Well, yeah I guess it is.”  
“Good. Tomorrow then. Meet here.”  
“Yeah.”  
Sherlock hiked his book bag higher on his shoulder and made his way quickly from underneath the awning. He didn’t know what had compelled him to actively seek out another humans company- he just knew this girl was definitely not boring.

 

John, or rather Joan right now, was freaking out. She was simultaneously cursing herself for getting trapped in the cold rain and for agreeing to meet up with that bloke. What if she turned back into a bloke by tomorrow, how would she explain that? She ran a hand through her hair.  
She didn’t understand why this happened to her, it was just something that had been part of her life since before she could remember. It resulted in a childhood of being bundled up against the cold weather. Low body temperature seemed to be the trigger for the change in gender, usually brought on by cold water in the form of cold showers, cold rain or cold lakes. The “transformation”, as her and her mum had taken to calling it, had only happened a total of four times previously in her life- after the first time, they were careful to try and avoid frigid water if at all possible.  
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Jay decided she was just going to take it as it came. She would meet this bloke tomorrow, either as a man or a woman, and take it from there. 

 

The next afternoon was promisingly bright. There was a smattering of clouds dotting the blue sky, but otherwise the sun shone through, warming the air to a comfortable temperature.   
Jay was still female, having not quite figured out how to turn herself back to a man. She had had to text her mates and e-mail her profs, telling them she wouldn’t be in class for the foreseeable future due to illness. She had then attended her uni classes as her female version, sitting in the back of the large lecture classes and trying not to draw attention.   
Jay re-adjusted her bag and checked her watch. Five after five and no sign of Sherlock. She considered leaving, having been played for the fool, but decided to give him another ten minutes.   
Six minutes passed before a long lanky figure stride-jogged towards her.  
“Ah good, you’re here. Fancy an experiment?” Sherlock called.  
“What?”  
“An experiment. Would you like to help me with one?” a touch of annoyance had crept into his voice.  
“Uh, what kind of experiment?”  
“Chemistry. The reaction of stomach acid on different brands of rubber. Coming?” Without waiting for a reply, Sherlock spun and started striding back the way he’d come.  
“I- yeah, okay.” Jay followed dutifully behind. “Where exactly is this experiment? You’re not bringing me to some creepy basement, right?” Jay was only half joking.  
“Please, don’t be so dull. If I was going to harm you, I wouldn’t draw you away with the promise of an experiment. No, we’re just going to the chemistry building, where I have a lab booked for the next two hours.” This was all thrown over Sherlock’s shoulder. They continued their journey in silence and when they reached the doors to the building, Sherlock held the door open for Jay.   
“Thank you,” Jay gruffly said. She let Sherlock take the lead again and was directed down a hallway and through a wooden door with an in-lain window.   
“Know anything about chemistry?”  
“I’ve taken a couple classes. Enough to know basic lab protocol.”  
“Good. I’ve already tried two different types of rubber in the stomach acid, but neither is quite right. I’m going to try car tire next. If you could hand me sample C there,” he pointed to a sample slide labeled with a C. Jay dropped her bag and reached for the slide, giving it to Sherlock. Sherlock took the slide with nimble fingers and deftly dropped the sample into a beaker already half-full with liquid. Stomach acid, Jay presumed.  
“Why exactly are we doing this experiment again?”  
“For this case I’m helping with. Top secret, can’t divulge.”  
“Case? Like, police case?”  
“Yes, I help out New Scotland Yard when they need it, which is always. They’ve got me working this case.”  
“What’s the case?”   
Sherlock looked at her incredulously for a moment. “I told you, very hush hush.”  
Jay scoffed. “Please. They wouldn’t give a top secret case to a Uni student. Seriously, what’s the deal?”  
“A woman was found dead in a locked room, no windows, no way to get in and out of the room except one door. No sign of a struggle, only strange thing that has been found is a piece of partially deteriorated rubber in her stomach, too corroded to know exactly what it was or if it was significant. I’m now trying to determine how quickly different rubbers corrode in stomach acid and, knowing relative time of death, I can narrow down what kind of rubber was in her stomach, hopefully leading to knowing how she got in that locked room when she was already dead.”  
“Huh. That’s really incredible.”  
“I-uh well thanks, I suppose.” Sherlock blinked a couple times. “This experiment will take about an hour to yield results. Would you like to grab coffee while we wait?”  
“Sounds great.” Jay held out her hand in invitation for Sherlock to lead the way. He led Jay through twisting hallways to a small cafeteria tucked away in the corner of the building.   
“I’ll have a coffee black, two sugars and…” he looked questioningly at Jay.  
“Tea, one sugar please.”  
“Make them both larges.” Sherlock handed over his student card, which the cashier quickly rang through. She handed over the two cups. With a word of thanks, Jay took her cup and wrapped her small hands around the cup, warming them up. Sherlock led them over to the end of a long cafeteria table, Jay taking one side and Sherlock taking the other. They sat in silence, Jay looking at her currently smaller hands and still trying to get used to them. She glanced up to see Sherlock with his hands steepled under his chin.  
“Penny for your thoughts?”  
Sherlock blinked. “Just running over some calculations in my head.”  
“If you want to go back to the lab, we can.”  
“No, no, I just got distracted.” He narrowed his eyes at Jay. “So, Jay, what kind of things do you like to do?”  
“Oh, you know, not much. I’ve got a blog I’ve never written anything on, but honestly between classes and homework I don’t have time for much else.” She chuckled. “This is obviously not the case for you. What kind of cases do you work on?”  
“Anything New Scotland Yard needs help with, really. My favourites are locked-room cases. They’re the most fun to solve.”  
“A good challenge, eh?” Jay smiled softly.  
“Yeah.” A pause. “You really don’t find that strange?”  
“What, that you like solving murders? I mean it’s not ordinary per se, but there are a lot stranger things you could be into.”  
“I have a blog too, discussing different tobacco types. I play the violin at odd hours of the morning. Sometimes I don’t talk for days.”  
“Still not seeing much wrong.”  
Sherlock hummed and his eyes narrowed slightly. “I believe it’s time we headed back to the experiment.” Leaping up from the table, he started heading out of the cafeteria, assuming Jay would follow. He was not wrong.   
When they re-entered the lab, it was to find the sample corroded significantly. Sherlock, upon laying eyes on the sample, rushed to the counter and picked up the beaker, holding it to the light and swirling it.  
“This might be it!” he exclaimed. Scooping a pair of tweezers off the counter, he reached into the beaker and pulled out the piece of tire rubber. Holding it closer to the light, he squinted at it. “It’s showing similar corrosion patterns as the original sample. Yes… yes I think I’ve solved it!” The tweezers and piece of rubber were dropped onto the counter as Sherlock grabbed Jay’s face between his hands and planted a firm kiss on Jay’s lips. “This is great!”  
Jay looked taken aback. “I- yeah, that’s good. Really.” She was startled by Sherlock’s sudden enthusiasm. Sherlock sobered as he noticed Jay’s hesitation.  
“I’m sorry, Jay, I just got excited.”  
“No, yeah that’s okay, I just wasn’t expecting it is all. You didn’t seem the type to be… attracted to normal people like me.”  
Sherlock rubbed a hand through his hair self-consciously. “Honestly, dating’s not really my area. And I’ve never felt any attraction to girls. But there’s something about you…” he trailed off.  
Jay felt a stab of panic at those searching eyes. “Well, there’s nothing unusual about me, I can tell you that.” She chuckled nervously.  
“Would you like to get out of here?”  
Jay looked around. “You should probably clean up but yeah, I’d like that.”  
Sherlock quickly disposed of the acid and kept the rubber sample in a plastic container in his pocket.   
“Dinner?” Jay asked once they had finished. Sherlock took her hand.  
“I’d love to.”

 

Weeks passed with Jay and Sherlock spending more and more time together, occasionally solving crimes but mostly getting to know one another. They never progressed past hand holding and kissing, partially because Jay was still uncomfortable in her current body and partially because Sherlock seemed content with where they were in their physical relationship.   
Jay was conflicted. On one hand, she wouldn’t mind having her male body back but on the other hand, she was afraid that Sherlock wouldn’t like her as a man. She knew that logically Sherlock liked her for her personality more than her looks or gender, but she worried anyway. And so, Jay had been avoiding cold water like the plague. Until she forgot.

It had been Jay’s idea and really, she should have thought it through more. But she didn’t.   
She convinced Sherlock to take a walk through the small forest on campus. It was abnormally warm, even for summer, and the trees offered cool shade. They were wandering through the sunlight-dappled forest, holding hands and chatting about nothing and everything. They came across a small brook, no more than a trickle of water over some rocks.  
“Dare you to go in,” Sherlock mumbled in Jay’s ear as he nipped at Jay’s earlobe from behind her.  
“I’m not that daft. It’s probably really cold, and you have probably already calculated the exact temperature.” No response from Sherlock besides him moving down towards Jay’s neck. “Am I wrong?”  
“On one count. I have indeed calculated the temperature of the water, but it isn’t really cold, it’s actually quite warm. By my calculation.” He slid his arms around Jay, who looked at him skeptically over her shoulder. “No really, it should be quite hot. Almost like bath water, really. Just dip your toes in. I dare you.”  
“Only if you do it too,” Jay conceded.   
“Alright fine, we’ll both dip our toes in on the count of three.” Sherlock leaned down to take his shoes off and Jay did the same. “Ready? One, two, three!”   
Jay felt a push on her back. The next thing she felt was a stab of cold as she landed in the decidedly not hot water and then a tingling sensation running through her body. Panic set in as she realized she was changing back into her male form. She froze in the water, hyperventilating.  
Catching his breath by putting his head between his knees, John noted the cold water seeping into the seat of his pants and pooling around his hands and feet. He cleared the water from his eyes and looked up at Sherlock, anxiety darkening his eyes.  
“Jay?” Sherlock was standing with a dumb-found expression on his face.  
“If this wasn’t so traumatizing, I would take a picture of that expression. It’s one people rarely see,” John feebly joked.  
“I- but how?” Sherlock’s brow furrowed in consternation.   
“I honestly don’t know. It’s just something that’s always happened.” Thankfully today he was wearing knee-length jean shorts, a plain t-shirt and light hoodie, clothes that could be worn by either a girl or a boy. “Give me a hand out?” he asked, holding out his hand.  
“Yes, of course.” Sherlock still looked shell-shocked. When their hands met, John flashed his eyes up to Sherlock’s and grinned a crooked grin before pulling Sherlock in beside him. A small yelp preceded a bigger splash as Sherlock landed half beside and half on top of John.   
“Hi, I’m John,” John shook their still clasped hands before letting go.  
“Hi, John. I’m Sherlock,” Sherlock said before pulling John in for an enthusiastic kiss. He pulled back so that only the tips of their noses were touching. “Nice to meet you. I knew you were unique.”


End file.
